“The truth,” says Iris Fuller, “is I set out to create a good store. It turned out to be a
great store.”

The store was Fillamento — three floors at Fillmore and Sacramento filled to overflowing with furniture, glassware, linens, bath items and eclectic gifts from the whimsical to the practical. It was a retail museum where everything was for sale — and could be gift-wrapped, free of charge, with a raffia bow and a sprig of eucalyptus.

Shoppers near and far still fondly recall the sumptuous displays, the sidewalk sales, the Santa who played his selfsame role for nearly two decades. And they still miss the store that graced the street, now gone since 2001.

Fillamento opened in April 1981 and led the neighborhood’s renaissance as a successful commercial district. “From the day we opened, there was something magical about the place,” said Iris. “I had $300 when I started the store — and the first month, I took in $14,000.”

Finding Fillamento’s location was a mix of happenstance and serendipity. A friend was scoping out the possibility of opening a restaurant in what is now the Elite Cafe, then the New Asia Cafe. Iris and Gill went along to check out the street. They happened upon 2135 Fillmore, the former site of Florence’s 5 & 10.

“I peeked in the door and that was it,” said Iris. “Rent was 32 cents a foot for 3,200 square feet.”

The place needed work — lots of it. “When we first saw the store, there was garbage from floor to ceiling and peel ’n stick mirrors on the walls,” said Gill. “But we knew what it could be, what we would make it.”

They speculate that the site might have housed a bookie joint at one point. In the basement were wires and buzzers everywhere — and sliding metal doors connecting to nearby buildings.

They cleaned and burnished and painted inside and out, and fashioned a mezzanine that later showcased bed and bath products.

For 20 years, the store flourished. There were plans to grow into other locations, to go global. Then, fairly suddenly, it all ended.

A farewell sign posted in the window during the store’s final days in August 2001 recalled the bitter and the sweet.

To our dear customers:

It is with great sadness that we announce the closing of Fillamento. We expect our last business day to be sometime in September. After 20 glorious years of business, we find that we can simply no longer survive in the current economic climate. Fillamento has been my labor of love, and I have treasured every day of it. Please accept my heartfelt thanks and know that you will all be missed.

Thanks for the wonderful memories,
Iris Fuller and the Fillamento staff

“I should have closed a year before I did,” Iris says now. “The reality of the dot-com bust was that people just weren’t spending money. By then, days that had been an easy $5,000 were only $1,800.”

Fillamento’s doors closed on September 3, 2001—Gill’s 60th birthday, and eight days before the terrorist attacks.

“That put everything in perspective,” Iris said. “It was a huge reality check. How was I to mourn?”

Five years later, they still harbor fond memories of Fillamento.

“It was such a neighborhood place, but it was known all over the world,” said Gill. “People still praise Iris and the Fillamento she created. They say things like, ‘Now I have my own business, but you got me started.’ And in that way, the store lives on.”

“I planned to come back and do it again, but smaller,” Iris said. “I thought I’d open up a little store in Petaluma because I’m truly not the retiree type. I’m just not sure I could get married to a store again.”

She picks up a copy of a shopping map of Fillmore Street, checking out the stores and restaurants on the street. “Fabulous! This is so fabulous!” she says with her old enthusiasm. “I may have to open up a little store there.”

Another locally owned shop bites the dust. Vitamin Express, at 2047 Fillmore, is closing at the end of August.

Owner Michael LeVesque said he has a large customer base and a sympathetic landlord, but that staffing issues and online ordering helped do him in.

“Getting the special kind of staff we need and affording to pay them enough to remain in the city is becoming prohibitive,” he says.

He will consolidate his operations at his other store at 1428 Irving Street.

FILLMORE BAKESHOP
SIGNS 10-YEAR LEASE

The father-daughter team who own Fillmore Bakeshop at Fillmore & Bush have signed a new 10-year lease.

Elena and Doug Basegio have developed a loyal local following in the five years since they took over Patisserie Delanghe. At first it looked like a 90 percent rent hike might force them out. They’re still facing a big increase, but hoping to make it work. Those fruit pies are safe.

MORE CHANGE
AT THE AMELIA

In the same block of setback storefronts underneath the Amelia condos, there’s another vacancy. First Barry for Pets closed after 40 years on Fillmore at the end of April. Now the fashion shop A City Obsession has called it quits barely a year after arriving.

At the southern end of the block, Pizza Inferno is still waiting to begin its transformation into the Academy.

NOW IT’S THE
KIMPTON BUCHANAN

What has most recently been the Hotel Tomo at 1800 Sutter in Japantown — sold last year to Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants — reopened June 23 as the Kimpton Buchanan.

Most of the focus has been on the duo’s plans to expand into Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles. But it could bring a new gathering place to the top of Fillmore Street, too.

“We’re very excited about the prospect of joining this lovely neighborhood,” said Blue Bottle boss James Freeman.

A NEW INCARNATION
AT OCTAVIA & BUSH

An elegant new dining option has arrived in the neighborhood, with Octavia opening at the corner of Octavia and Bush, previously home of Baker & Banker, Quince, Meetinghouse and others.

Under chef-owner Melissa Perello — much lauded for her cooking at Frances in the Castro — the dining room is lighter and more minimal and the menu simplified and seasonal. Initial reviews are glowing. Octavia is open for dinner, except on Monday, and a private dining room is coming in the former downstairs bakery.

While the casual Italian shoe brand Superga pursued its permits to move into 2326 Fillmore — now granted — women’s eco-fashion retailer Amour Vert popped up again in the space. Amour Vert had a temporary pop-up in the former Jurlique space at 2136 Fillmore during the holiday season.

JUICY NEWS MOVES
TO UNION STREET

Juicy News, the newstand at 2453 Fillmore for the past 23 years, is settling into its new home down the hill at 2181 Union Street, just a few doors east of Fillmore.

Its new digs were once the home of the legendary Minerva's Owl bookstore. "This shop had massive history," says Salimi. "So good vibes and heritage all around."

PAINT STORE MOVES
TO THE FILLMORE

Lower Fillmore has a useful new business: a paint store. G&R Paint Co. — the highly regarded purveyor of Benjamin Moore and other paint at 1238 Sutter — has moved to 1491 Webster, in the Safeway parking lot.

The store is part of the locally owned Creative Paint company, which has four paint stores and two hardware stores, including Brownie’s on Polk Street.